


Cross My Heart

by The_Shy_One



Series: Lancelot fics [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mermaids, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Let's see if I can keep my promise on chapter count lol, M/M, let
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-04-25 11:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14377386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Shy_One/pseuds/The_Shy_One
Summary: Lotor never knew he could be this infatuated with a human before. But it wasn't enough to speak to the human for a few hours, he wanted more.





	1. Chapter One

Curiosity coursed through his veins as he watched the human from far below the surface. The way the human’s body cut through the water was always jarring to see and he wondered how they could do that with the way their body was designed. It was clear that their flailing limbs didn’t have the same dexterity that merfolks’ tails had when moving through the water.

 

Swimming up from his spot in the coral that he was hiding in, he continued to watch the human as they swam through the surface of the water. The fish nearby darted away, not interested in becoming his next bite size snack.

 

He watched from afar for most of the afternoon, seeing the bright sun slowly pass over the surface of the water, fascinated with this particular human. Lotor was used to seeing the many sizes that humans came in as they spent parts of the day swimming in the area near land. It was a vast contrast to what merfolks could come in. While their body frame were slender, making getting into smaller or even narrow places easier, they could also pack on a lot muscle if they joined in the hunts often for food that the rest of the community needed. Still seeing the human he watched have the similar frame to those of the younger mermaids or mermans gave him enough intrigue to stay put. 

 

He was not interested to get back to his home where he would be given some form of work to keep him busy. A prince can never rest, even if it was well deserved.

 

As the hours went by, Lotor could feel the tides pulling out from shore. He could also see the human’s body start to tire out. As the tides continued to pull out, the human seemed to be dragged out with it and the odd looking limbs started to flail just a bit. Swimming closer, Lotor brushed up against where the tail would be if they were a mermaid. 

 

He could feel the panic that the human gave off as they tried to keep above the water, their limbs moving frantically once more. He could also hear an odd sound above the surface, piqued his curiosity even more. Lotor brushed up against their odd limbs once more before breaking the surface. The air that he took in instead of water stung his gills and lungs. 

 

The feeling of air rushing to his lungs was uncomfortable at best and at worst might possibly kill him if he didn’t go back under the water soon. As he struggled to keep himself from coughing at how dry the air was against his gills, Lotor felt the something pressing against his body. Annoyed at the situation he found himself in, he considered using his claws to scare off whatever creature was brave enough to come close to him during such a tense moment. 

 

“Hey don’t use those against me when you’ve already scared me! I have a family to get back to and I would like to do so without any claw marks.” Came a stern voice as he moved to strike his claws. 

 

Lotor paused for a moment with his hands and claws poised in the dry air. Turning his upper body towards the human, Lotor saw that they were clinging to his torso and giving him a look that made him drop his hands back into the water. 

 

It wasn’t usually in his nature to notice the beauty of other merfolk nor the creatures surrounding him. It was taught that beauty usually meant danger for him as the prince of the Galra territory. Many wanted to murder him for what his father had done or to keep the line of succession of the Galra royalty from continuing and would do so in a number of ways that would first catch his attention. But in this moment Lotor couldn’t help himself admiring the beauty of this human.

 

The short strands of their hair was wet with sea water which made it cling to their head and the nape of their neck. The colour of their hair was also a dark brown that was a rarity to see from his own people, flaring every kind of colour with pride. Those who had the same colour of brown that this human had would be regarded highly by the general populace. 

 

The skin was also different from what Lotor was used to seeing with several areas of the body being various shades of light brown. There was also small spots that were spread out all over their body, giving them a unique appearance to him.

 

As he finally made his way to their eyes, Lotor knew he had found one of the more beautiful things in his life. With how close they were, he could see the different shades of blue mixing together, the dark cold blue with light tinted blue complimenting each other well. Their eyes what was made his hearts beat a little harder than anything else that he saw and it made him feel like he should give them anything that they desired. Such a feeling was unknown to him and frankly Lotor wanted to swim as far as he could from this human who was making him feel this way.

 

Still the likely chance that the human was part of any resistance that wanted to get rid of the Galra royalty was low. Most of the merfolk populations stayed away from humans, afraid that they would be hunted for being exotic in their looks or how they tasted.

 

Even royalty were forbidden to go near humans, scared for their future and the future of their kingdoms.

 

“I’m sorry I almost struck you with my claws. It seems that I forgot what I was going to do once I tasted the air. “He said taking in another break of air. It still burned as it made its way to his lungs.”How do you humans deal air? It’s just awful to taste and breath in.”

 

“We humans usually prefer it over breathing in water. But a lot of people wish they could breath both.” The human answered, their eyes shifting away from Lotor. He was disappointed that he couldn’t stare at them any longer, that he could no longer see their beauty.

“It seems that breathing both would be extremely useful. But the likely chance that one being able to do it are low.” Lotor answered, coughing slightly as he took another breath in. 

 

As best as he could with the human hanging off his body, Lotor moved his clawed hands to cup some water and pouring it over his gills. The instant relief that he felt when the water made contact with his gills and started to soothed them was beyond anything he could ever explain. He did this a few more times before he felt another hand pressing against one of his gills.

 

Looking down Lotor saw that the human gripped his torso with one hand and used the other to cup water with. The gentle press of the human’s hand on his gills as the forced more water onto them made his hearts beat a bit harder once more and he turned his gaze away from them.

 

“Anyway, my name’s Lance. You probably have a beautiful name to go with that beautiful face.” The human said as he dropped his hand back into the sea causing the water to splash on the both of them. The drops of water made his light blue skin glisten in the sunlight.

 

“I am Lotor. It’s nice to meet you Lance.” He replied taking another scope of water. He was unsure of the compliment that Lance had given him and what it could mean. Humans were a complete mystery on how they interacted with each other or how they would interacted with merfolk beyond the cautionary tales. “You’re beautiful as well from my perspective.”

 

As he let the human process those words, he moved some of his hair that was clinging to his face. It shined in the sun, reflecting a range of colours including a soft colour of purple.

 

“You can’t say stuff like that without warning a guy.” Lance said, looking down at the water than at the being he was holding. Lotor could see the cheeks of the human gathering a tint of red to them along with the back of his neck.

 

“Such a curious reaction. Do all humans do this or are you a special case?” Lotor questioned, moving a clawed hand towards Lance’s face. Before the human could stop him, he gently placed his hand on their face, careful not to accidentally pierce their skin with his claws as he did so.

 

He felt the warmth that the Lance’s cheeks held and how it continued to do so as he kept his hand there. Lotor observed the wide eyed look that the human had, wondering if it was a good or bad reaction. Just as he was about to take his hand away, he saw Lance start to smile. Like he understood what Lotor was doing and wasn’t going to take offense to it.

 

Then he placed a hand over Lotor’s, looking up at him with the same smile. It was soft smile that made the human’s face much gentler than he had seen it. Such was a rare sight for the prince since he was the son of a tyrannical Emperor. But all the same the sight made the two hearts in his chest beat out of rhythm for just a moment.

 

“All humans blush. Though I happen to show it more than a lot of people. My mama use to tell me that I could never lie to her because my cheeks would blush whenever I tried too.” Lance said after a while. He still kept eye contact with Lotor like he was trying to gauge his reactions would be to his statement.

 

“Do you know makes your species blush like that? Or is information that few know about?” He asked, curiosity pushing him to know more about this strange phenomenon. 

 

“I think it has to do with blood rushing to various places. Depending on why someone is blushing, it can appear on their face, neck, chest and more private areas.” Lance answered. Then a moment after he answered Lotor’s question, curiosity came over his face “Do mermaids not blush? Or do they have something similar to it?

 

For moment Lotor thought over Lance’s questions, wondering if he should answer the human’s questions or not. It could lead to curiosity beyond being satisfied with secured knowledge of something and become a hunt for the various forms of merfolk that lived in the ocean. While Lotor knew how the various kingdoms viewed the Galra Empire and their royalty, he still didn’t want to cause unnecessary panic and terror.

 

“You promise not to tell anyone that you met me or anything from this conversation?”

 

“Yeah dude. It would be rude of me to do that when it seems like your a private species. Curious, but extremely private.” Lance said back, honesty showing on his face and body. There wasn’t a hint of anything besides honesty and Lotor could feel in his gut that he could at least give out this little tidbit of information.

“We have scales around our face and other areas that flitter when we experience extreme emotions.” He said, moving one of hands to point out the scales on his face. 

 

Lance leaned closer to his face, trying to get a closer look at the scales that were different from the rest of his body while still keeping a grip on Lotor’s body. As he did this, Lotor saw the randomly placed spots came in various sizes, some were even so small that he couldn’t see unless he was extremely close to their body. With a tentative hand, he moved it towards one of the smaller spots that was on Lance’s arm and gently pressed his hand against it.

 

He didn’t feel any difference between the spot itself and the skin around it other that the spot rose up slightly. 

 

“You humans are such curious things. The stories that were told about you do no justice on how look or act in the slightest.” Lotor mumbled, recalling some of the stories Hagger had told him in his youth. He moved his hand away, his curiosity sated for the moment.

 

“Well you’re a lot different than what most people would imagine in their heads.” Lance said back. His beautiful blue eyes focused on his, showing a world that he couldn’t fathom. “Mostly people imagine mermaids to have similar skin and hair colours to humans and only having a tail. You’re a contradiction to everything I just described! Especially your eyes!”

 

“Is that a good thing?” Lotor asked.

 

“Well at the moment it is. Actually it makes sense you guys would look a lot different than us, probably evolving to handle the pressure of the sea lot better than humans.” Lance said, pausing for a moment. “Plus I bet there’s a lot more variety than what you look like.”

 

“You are correct in assuming that. There are various kingdoms and tribes of merfolk who do not have my looks, but are still valued as being beautiful.” Lotor said, moving his hand to cup more water for his gills. They had started to dry up again and he hated how it felt.

 

As he pressed the water to his gills Lance said “You must have suitors from a lot of places then. You’re too much of a catch to let go.”

 

“There are no offers in marriage for me. Few few kingdoms want to alliance themselves with mine for moral reasons that they have.” Lotor said sternly. He didn’t want to discuss anything to do with his family whether the human was curious or not. He wanted to get away from his duties, not discuss them at length.

 

“Alright, I won’t ask any questions about that. With the tone and death glare that you were giving me, it would be a dick of me to continue.” The human said. He loosening his grip that he had on Lotor’s body a bit as if he were trying to passive him.

 

Lotor didn’t answer as he took more water to his gills. He noticed that the sun was starting to set in the horizon turning the water from various shades of light blue to brilliant shades of pink, purple, red and orange. The colours spread out from the sun, creating an image that the sun was trying to infuse itself into the water.

The temperature of the water started to drop as well, not receiving the warmth of sun anymore. Soon the moon would rise and cause the tides to go back towards the shore. Then Lance would have to leave him.

 

In his heart he didn’t want Lance to leave just yet. He wanted to know more about the anomalies that humans had, what differed between humans and merfolk. Lotor couldn’t let him slip through his clawed hands, not without his curiosity sated nor why his hearts would beat out of rhythm when Lance was around him.

 

“Hey Lotor? Do you think you could get me to shore? The water’s starting to get a little cold for me.” Lance said, bringing Lotor out of his thoughts. He noticed that the human’s body was starting to shiver against his, likely trying to keep itself warm.

 

“It would be no trouble for me to bring you back to the shore. I have to leave as well or the kingdom will be searching for me.” He answered, moving his arms to wrap around Lance’s body. He could feel how the water was affecting the other’s skin, making it feel colder than it should be.

 

As he moved the two of them towards shore, keeping the human above the waves as best as he could. Even as the temperature of the water continued to drop, Lance’s body didn’t continue to shiver like it did before. While Lotor wanted to know how that was possible, he forced himself from asking. He knew that prolonging their visit would make the hope he had in his heart that much harder to ignore and cause him to do something foolish.

 

Yet he still hoped he could see this human again in any way possible. 

 

As they go close to shore, Lotor felt the sand rubbing against his tail and fins causing some discomfort. The way the sand would cling to the cracks between the scales and made his fins heavier and how it took forever for him to get rid of it all after leaving the human made the end of the visit bittersweet.

 

Still he didn’t let his discomfort show as they quietly said goodbye to each other. As Lotor watched the human move away from him, using the awkward limbs of where a tail should to quickly go to his home. He stayed in the water, letting the waves wash over him and force more sand onto his tail, watching where his human was going. It wasn’t long until he got his answer.

 

It wasn’t that far away from the shore, but it was far enough that Lance wouldn’t access the shore like Lotor could. Still it didn’t stop him from forming his plans. All he needed to do first was research.

 

_______________________

 

It was hours before he was allowed to roam free around the palace. Hagger was upset that he had slipped through her watchful eyes and the guards she had placed around the palace once more. Her punishment was for him to finish up thank you letters to various noble families that had visited the Galra Empire recently. It was a tedious chore that was often left to the servants who could read and write.

 

Still he had did them for her to become careless once more. If she felt like he had enough of a punishment then she would let him go. It was something he had learned from a young age and never bothered to correct her on. She should have noticed it by now for him not to use it against her.

 

As he swam through the halls towards his destination, Lotor’s thoughts returned to Lance once more. He felt a form of happiness he had never felt before coursing through his body as he continued to think about the human. It was something new that was joyful to experience, a rarity in his life.

 

As he made his way into the library and into the section that held legends and tales about humans, Lotor felt confident about the plan he had formed. As long as he could execute it with the research he would do then nothing could stop him.

 

Not Hagger, not the Alteans and certainly not his father.

 

He went through various scrolls, trying to find a specific one that held the information that he needed. Mermaids and mermen have turned into humans before and it was documented through all the kingdoms. But it was kept as hidden knowledge from the common folk so they wouldn’t revolt against their royal family. Without the people for them to guide, they were nothing more than ordinary themselves.

 

As he felt his body start to tire out, the words on the scrolls starting to blur together, the one he needed had made its way to him. Lotor read through it quickly, smiling to himself. All that was needed for him to start his plan was something special from the archives.

 

____________________

  
  


It took everything that Lotor had to swim away from the guards as they noticed him leaving with one of the many forbidden objects from the palace. Even with what looked like big frivolous fins that hung on the lower portion of his tail, it helped him move around corners and objects much quicker than those who had smaller to no fins on their tail. The frivolous looking fins were also a sign of being having royal blood in their body to the merfolk.

 

Taking another sharp corner from one hall to the next, Lotor hoped that his speed and planning would get both him and the forbidden object out of the palace. As he speed down the many hallways, avoiding other guards that were on the lookout for him, he looked over the comb he had taken from the archive.

 

The history of how this comb became a forbidden object throughout the kingdom was one that had Lotor fascinated for so many years. Though the comb had traces of magic that the original creator had put into it, it was more known for being part of countless murders that concerned people important to the royal family and even royal members of the family themselves. 

 

Even if the comb couldn’t really be used for a weapon, it was more the fact that it was a symbol from the murders to claim that they did such a deed. So it was put away in the archive to keep it from others who wanted to cause harm to the royal family.

 

Though the comb’s history was gruesome to say the least, the appearance that the creator put into it was beautiful. The comb was carved from a whale’s bone, made to last for a long time with bristles that could untangle any merfolk hair. The surface was smooth with the tiny details that were carved into the handle, depicting a scene from a joyous marriage from one important family or another. On one side of the comb was a sea anemone that had most white tentacles with the tips transitioning from a light red to a maroon colour. The anemone was encased by an unknown substance to keep it looking as fresh as the day it was picked.

 

As he continued to the surface and in the direction of the beach he had taken Lance to when the human asked him to take him home, Lotor felt his hearts speed up at the thought of meeting the same human again. The way that the human spoke to him when they were clinging to each other for few hours in the sea was something he had never experienced in a long time. 

 

Though he had trust in the team of generals that he had handpicked and spent time with, it wasn’t the same as someone who didn’t know his status as a Galran Prince and still wanted to know him as the merman he was. It was thrilling to experience it with someone that also fascinated him. 

 

As he breached the surface, he saw that the moon was high in the sky and was forcing the tide to pull back out. Now would be the only time that he could do his plan if he wanted it to be successful. Swimming as close to the shore as he could, Lotor the thrum of excitement in his blood.

 

What he had learned from that scroll would make him as human as Lance and keep him that way for however long he wanted. The author of the scroll even confirmed it themself that what was written down would be successful for everyone that tried it. 

 

Dragging his body onto the course sand of shore, Lotor pushed himself as far as he could go. He needed to be dry as possible in the next few hours and being away from tides would guarantee this. As he left a trail in the sand made by his tail, he continued to drag his body away from the water. He could feel his scales already drying up and his gills protesting against the irritating the grains of sand that accidentally made their way there along with the horrible dry air.

 

Yet he continued to smile as this was all happening to him.

 

When his arms gave way, unable to carry him further, Lotor took in deep breathes as he laid in the sand that had not been touched by water. Even if the air was something his gills weren’t use to, it needed something to keep him alive.

 

As he continued to stay where he was, forcing his body to accept the air without water to passive it, he still smiled.

 

Soon he drifted off to sleep, lulled by the waves crashing to shore in the distance. As Lotor continued to sleep, his body started to change. His tail soon split to become two separate legs, similar to the humans. Then his skin went from a light navy blue to a rich colour of dark brown and his hair went fully white.

 

It was a slow process and yet it was hours away from the sun rising.

 

Still Lotor smiled in his sleep.


	2. Chapter Two (Part One)

It was early in the morning when Lance woke up, seeing the barest hints of sunlight peeking through his window and curtains. He stayed in his bed, looking up at the ceiling, dazed at being awake this early in the morning and trying not to let his eyes close again. It took a while before he forced himself out of bed, dressing in clothing that wasn’t his pj’s. With the random early start to his day this morning that would become a welcoming change to his life for once.

 

Walking out of his room with a new pair of jeans and a thin long sleeved shirt to cover his body, he quietly made his way past Hunk’s bedroom and then down the stairs.

 

As he started to rummaged in the kitchen that he shared with his best friend, the sunlight he saw from his room started to grow stronger and made the room temperature rise up slowly. The sun was peeking over the horizon, but steadily kept climbing higher and higher in the sky. Along with the sun the faint blue light of the sky steadily grew stronger and stronger. Lance watched it for a while as he quietly made his breakfast.

 

He just enjoyed watching how the world would change from one form of beauty to another whenever he got up this early. How the dark would give away control to the light for just a time being.

 

Plus he couldn’t sleep anymore with the thought that mermaids and mermen were actually real. That they were actually living in the ocean and had what seemed like functioning society from how Lotor worded it yesterday when they talked for a short amount of time. That they were beings that kept away from humans for reasons that seemed typical of a fantasy novel. From what he heard from Lotor’s fear, they kept away from humans or they would most likely in their eyes be captured for their beauty and be used for a number of things.

 

It was reasonable to understand, but he wished he could have meet the merman sooner or have some way of being able to meet up with him more. He seemed like someone who would be interesting to talk to and learn from. Lotor must be quite older than him if Lance had to assume some things about the merman himself.

 

He did seem to hold a worldview that older beings seemed to have from all the stuff he’s consumed. Especially about mermaids.

 

Lance may have also been captivated by the merman’s striking, but beautiful looks. Lotor was far from the image of mermaids that Lance grew up with, but at the same time it made a lot of sense that they wouldn’t look quite the same as humans. They lived underwater and had different needs than what humans needed on land. He also assumed that they used different ways of hunting and fighting each other for territory as well.

 

But all the same, Lotor was beautiful in an other worldly way.

 

Especially with the long white hair that would slightly change colour depending on the amount of light and water was on it. It was like seeing a oil puddle on the pavement and moving your head around to catch the rainbow that was in it. It may look plain at first, but held a beautiful surprise when exploring it further.

 

As he slowly ate the breakfast he ate, he continued to remember the disappointment he saw in the merman’s face when he had to leave. Lance could tell that Lotor was curious about humans and how they seemed to differ from the stories that the merfolk had on them. Lance felt the same, wanting to see all the quirks that the other had with their body. The flickering scales that Lotor had on his cheeks were incredible, especially when he got the chance to feel them move.

 

With the last of food disappearing from his plate Lance made his way to the sink. As he washed up his plate, he could hear the faint sounds of Hunk waking up. A soft smile made his way to his face as he heard the grumbling come down the stairs.

 

“Please tell me you have something for me eat.” Came Hunk’s voice from the door to the kitchen. It still dipped low in places, giving away that his friend wasn’t awake yet.

 

“I have some eggs and stuff that I made for myself. Want me to make more?” Lance asked, looking up from the silverware he was cleaning. The slow nod that Hunk gave him was all the answer he needed.

 

Leaving the sink, he went back to the stove to make Hunk some breakfast. The bigger man sat down at the table, resting his head on both of his hands. It must have been another long night with the project he was currently working on. Which meant that at some point their other friend would join the both of them to help.

 

The minutes passed by in silence. It was enjoyable though seeing the sun rise over the horizon and that they could hear the ocean when Lance opened the window. 

 

The most un-surprising thing that people discover about the both of them is that they enjoyed living near the ocean. Lance enjoyed the water and constantly was in it during his free time. Hunk would join him when he didn’t have a pressing project or paper due.

 

Still the best thing was walking the beach during the morning when there was few people and tourists about. The cold air would nipped at them, but would slowly dissipate as time went on. The few locals that they had come to know over the few years would chat with them, telling every bit of interesting news and gossip they had acquired over the last few days. It was something that was calming for the both of them.

 

Placing Hunk’s breakfast on a clean plate and getting coffee, he walked over to the table and placed them down. 

 

“Guessing that Pidge will have to come over today or tomorrow.” He said. “You look rough buddy.”

 

“Just having some difficulties is all. She’ll be a great help though.” Hunk said, taking the first bite. Then he drained the coffee as Lance walked over to the coat hanger. From the breeze that was coming through the window, he could need something to combat the cold wind.

 

“Well text me when she’s coming over. Last time she was here, I was horrified by the mess she left behind.”

 

“And not because you ran away screaming when she chased you when you cleaned up her space before she left?” Hunk questioned, a smile threatening to spread across his face. He took another bite of his breakfast as he waited for Lance’s clear denial of an answer.

 

With a roll of the eyes Lance said back “No it’s not that. I just don’t want to clean up her mess again. How does she even survive if she’s messy like that?” Before he could let his friend answer, he picked up a jacket and rushed out of the house. As he made his way down the path to the beach, he could hear Hunk’s laughter echoing.

 

As the dirt path gave way to sand of the beach, Lance felt himself relax ever further. It was going to be a good day as he felt the wind from earlier die down a bit. He walked closer to the water, wanting to smell the sea salt with everything in him. The water came close to his sneakers, but were always an inch or two out of reach. The sun continued to climb higher and higher in the sky.

 

It stayed like this as Lance continued his walk. He saw a few of the neighbors on the way, giving him a wave as he went on by. They were older than Hunk and himself, but still enjoyed their company all the same. He saw that they were either working in a garden or relaxing in the sun as he went by.

 

As he got to the middle of his walk, he spotted something that was a bit further down the beach. Cutting diagonally towards it, the shape started to become clearer. As Lance got closer he could see that it was a body. It wasn’t a body of any of the animals that would sometimes wander the beach at night thankfully, but the other possibility was still just as horrible.

 

When he could see that the person was breathing as he got closer, he could feel his heart slow down a bit at this discovery. Lance could also see a trail in the sand leading from the water to the body, almost like the person dragged themselves out of the water and refused to stand up afterwards. Stopping at the unknown body, he could feel a blush creeping up his neck at the fact that the guy wasn’t wearing any clothing. Despite this fact Lance kneeled in the sand to get a closer look at him.

 

“Just don’t look any lower than needed Lance. Don’t need someone to claim I was being a perv when I was only taking a walk.” He muttered to himself. As he leaned over he noticed the features of the guy.

 

The hair was a shocking white, contrasting against the brown skin that was a shade or two darker than Lance’s and the sand beneath it. It was also extremely long, longer than Lance has seen on a human before. But from what he heard yesterday from Lotor, it seems that merfolk didn’t care all that much about social norms of humans. All that mattered was that they were beautiful no matter the gender.

 

As he put two fingers on the guy’s neck, he could still feel his blush crawling towards his face. It definitely wasn’t everyday that he would come across a naked guy on a beach that he walked almost every morning. Even less that he might have to call the police for a murder.

 

As Lance felt for a pulse, he saw that part of the hair was covering the guy’s face. Moving it behind his ear, Lance saw the beauty of his face. The cheekbones were sharp like they could literally cut him if he touched them with any pressure. Along with that there was some faint freckles that dotted the bridge of his cheeks. The one ear that Lance could see was a bit more pointed than what he would have normally seen, but it added to the beauty the guy had.

 

For a few moments he felt for a pulse, waiting for what decision he would have to make. Then feeling a solid beat of a heartbeat and he felt like he could breathe easier. Still that left him the question of what to do with the guy. He couldn’t leave them here in the sand where someone else might find them and cause a panic.

 

As he mulled over his decision, he felt the guy stir under his fingertips. They opened their eyes for only a few moments, but it was enough that Lance could see the beautiful shade of blue that he saw yesterday.

 

Shocked, he pulled his hand away and looked closer at the sleeping guy. While Lance knew some stories where a mermaid would turn into a human for love or adventure, they usually involved human looking mermaids. Lotor had a light blue skin that seemed close to navy and it glittered in the sun when there were drops of water on it after cupping some water for his gills. He also had a few pink marks on his body that were either naturally there or were scars.

 

There was also the fact of the merman’s body being a lot bigger than a human’s. Lance remembered how the tail had half curled around him, keeping him from floating away when Lotor wasn’t going to strike him. He could feel the begins of the fins as they floated in the water, not being used for that conversation.

 

All in all Lance wouldn’t have expected this naked human guy to be Lotor, not unless he spoke or those beautiful eyes had opened up right then.

 

Scrambling to stand, Lance knew that calling the police or anyone else was out of the question. They would think that Lotor was crazy, not understanding anything of the human world and would lock him up somewhere, treating him as a mental patient.

 

The other worse case scenario was the possibility of scientists catching wind of this whole situation and studying the merman for their curiosity of the underwater world. While Lance was all for the science community of furthering themselves on finding out the truths of the universe, he knew what happened when they were given free reign to do whatever they want with unknown creatures. Hell even with unknown mental conditions from some of the papers he read for a class he did last semester.

 

Pulling off his coat, he covered the merman up as best he could. There was still a lot of brown coloured skin showing off the chest and arms that weren’t being covered and were likely to burn in the sun if he didn’t hurry back quickly. But it was better than letting any one of the people who walked the beach seeing a random nude guy. They would only assume he was homeless or a drunk partier that had lost his way. 

 

That would lead to a few possible situations that Lance didn’t want to happen.

 

When he was satisfied with his work, Lance started to run down the beach. He knew his neighbors were giving him strange looks, knowing his routine better than him some days. They’ve never seen him run like that on his walk on the beach. Not since the incident with the seagulls two years ago. Still he paid no attention to them, having to get Hunk to help him carry Lotor back. 

 

While he knew that his friend would help him get the merman back to the house, it was a different matter of explaining why they needed to do so. In his friend’s eyes, Lance was even known to sneer at those how had gotten so wasted from alcohol and wouldn’t help those people who has passed out in their house from the few times that they threw a party. They didn’t get the treatment like the other guests that had stayed with him before.

 

While it was a complicated reason why, it was mostly because he had seen too many accidents caused by that kind of drink for a lot of his life. It wasn’t his family members that had done that sort of thing thankfully, but it was the friends and some of the crowds in high school that had given him that outlook.

 

And Hunk knew better than to argue with him on those people when he came across them after their parties or anywhere else in the town.

 

As he burst through the door to the kitchen, he saw that Hunk wasn’t still at the table. Still Lance ran through the house, knowing Hunk couldn’t have gone that far. He did have that project to work on after all and wouldn’t have gone to town to get anything.

 

As he skidded into the living room and saw various parts of the project laid out on the floor and coffee, he also saw that Hunk was in one of the chairs his family members had given him a while ago, sleeping like the dead. Lance knew it was horrible to wake his friend up for something like this, it would also be beneficial to his friend as well. Pidge wasn’t one of those people who could wait for someone to get their full night’s rest.

 

No, she was the one wake them up for any reason that she deemed important. 

 

As Lance gently shook his friend awake, he kept hoping that nobody else found Lotor just yet. When that didn’t work, he shook harder and gave the promise having coffee for the man after he did him this favor. It roused Hunk up slightly, but not fast enough to Lance.

 

“Why are you in a hurry? Pidge won’t be here for another few hours. I wanted to catch up on some sleep before she comes here.” Hunk said, his words slurred from sleeping.

 

“Emergency kinda popped up while I went for a walk. Need your muscles to help me get it back to the house.” He said quickly, trying to lift his friend off the comfy chair. It was a miserable attempt since Hunk was heavier than him and was more stubborn about being woken up than anyone else he knew. “Come on we got to hurry.”

 

There was a huff of annoyance before the other man got up. He didn’t say anything as Lance dragged him out of the house and lead him down the beach. Lance would only hope that nobody had gotten a look at Lotor or tried to move him. He doubt the merman would be happy with anyone touching him while unconscious in a new body.

 

As they stopped in front of the body, he could hear Hunk give his infamous sigh that only happened around Lance.

 

“Do I want to know why we’re dragging a random and nude guy back to our house? Or does it involve something that I never want to hear about a close friend of mine?” Hunk questioned, kneeling down into the sand.

 

“I’ll try to explain later when he’s awake. But honestly I don’t know how you would react if I did try to tell you.” He replied. He had taken Hunk’s hoodie on the way out, knowing it would be better than his coat at covering up the nude merman. He slipped it over the other’s head and saw that it draped over the body where everything that needed to be covered was covered.

 

“Better hope that whoever this is will be appreciative of our hard work.” Hunk said as he lifted Lotor into his arms. His body laid across both of his arms, almost taller than Hunk himself. 

 

“I’m sure he will. Especially if we can get him to the house and put him in clothing.” Lance said, walking beside his friend. 

 

It was quiet between the two as they walked back to their house. The looks that the neighbors gave them wasn’t quite like the ones that were given to Lance running, but it was enough to know they were curious. He knew that either this afternoon or tomorrow they would come to their house to ask questions.

 

He also had questions himself. Mostly why Lotor showed up the next morning after their talk. As much as Lance wanted to talk to the merman again, this wasn’t quite what he pictured.

 

When entering the house, Lance directed Hunk to place Lotor in his bed. It would be better that the merman was out of Pidge’s sight when she came over. She would pester both him and Hunk about why there was strange man on their couch and why she wasn’t informed. The project would be forgotten until much later and that would lead into a frenzy that Lance didn’t want to experience yet this far into the year.

 

As he picked out clothing from both his closet and Hunk’s that would fit Lotor, he wondered again how this situation came to be.

 

_______________________

  
  


It was a few hours later that Lotor woke up. The afternoon sunlight came through the window creating beams of light against the opposite side of the room. Lance sat at his desk, writing one of his assignments that was due soon on a laptop. Surrounding him was several water bottles that were all empty and a bag of chips that was nearly gone. On the floor next to him was a pile of clothes that he figured the merman could pick from to wear.

 

He didn’t noticed that Lotor had woken up, staring at his creen as he tried to come up with the words to write. While assignments weren’t the hardest thing to do, they were a pain in the ass to do when some of the questions seem like they were asking of intelligence higher than his. As he struggled to find the right set of words, Lance hear a sound from behind him.

 

He didn’t jump in freight, but it felt like everything inside him had moved two inches up and had stayed there. As his heart raced, he slowly turned around to see Lotor sitting up on his bed, looking beautiful even with part of his hair covered in sand and messed up slightly and the hoodie hanging off part of his shoulder. If he wasn’t human, Lance would have questioned what kind of genes that the guy had.

 

“Ah you’re awake.” Was all he could muster up.

 

“I hope I didn’t intrude on you. I was expecting to be more well groomed than this when I saw you again.” Lotor said quietly, his eyes looking down at the surrounding blankets. Lance saw the faint signs of a red tint on the other’s cheeks. It was kinda cute to see.

 

“It was a bit surprising to find you nude on the beach. But not anything you really need to apologize for dude. Besides I wanted to see you again. Just wasn’t expecting it to be like this.” Lance replied. He leaned down from his chair to grab the clothing off the floor. “Probably best that you get dressed if you want to survive the afternoon with Pidge’s pestering and possibly shopping for her junk food consumption.”

 

“Dressed?” Lotor questioned, looking up from the bed. It was a few moments where he stared suspiciously at the clothing that Lance spread over his bed. “What do you expect me to do with these?”

 

“I expect you to wear them, especially around a girl.” Lance said with a laugh. “It’s no different than what I’m wearing now. I promise that it won’t hurt you much.”

 

Lotor stared at the pieces of clothing with distrust like he was expecting them to come to live and attack him. Still he hesitantly reached forward, dragging his lower body along with him. As Lotor touched the clothing, deciding which to wear, a thought popped into Lance’s head. 

 

It just occurred to Lance that Lotor might not know how to walk. It seemed obvious now, remembering the trail in the sand that led to Lotor’s body when he found it. He most likely changed from his merman body to the human one after beaching himself on the sand.

 

“Do you know how to walk Lotor? Or what I’m even talking about?” Lanced asked hesitantly. 

 

“I know that humans can do it and I’ve seen a few when wandering close to the beach in the past. However doing it myself I’m unsure of.” Lotor answered, holding up a tank top in his hands. It was one of the plain black ones that Lance had when he was helping Hunk on a project and didn’t want to ruin his other clothing.

 

“It might be a good idea to try after you get dressed. It would be weird for a guy that needed help walking without anything to aid him. Plus it wouldn’t work with the fact you showed up on the beach without anything as well.” Lance said, burying his head into hands. This was starting to get more and more complicated as time went on. He knew it would be easier once the situation was explained to Hunk, but that wouldn’t be for a while.

 

Pidge was someone else that he didn’t need nosing into this situation yet. Or not at all.

“I’ll try my best. But I cannot guarantee that I’ll be able to move like you so soon after the transformation. From what the scroll said it seems like it’ll take awhile for anyone who tried it.” Lotor spoke, picking a pair of jeans to go with the tank top. “But I do anything to make the situation a lot easier on you if that’s what you want me to do.”

 

“Well you’re probably gonna want to stay out of Hunk and Pidge’s way while they’re focused on the project. Probably best we get out of the house if you want any peace. Yeah that’ll be the best solution.” Lance said. He closed the laptop and stood up. “Now let’s get this on you and try to get you out of the house.”

 

Lotor looked mystified as he walked over to the bed and picked up the clothing that the merman had picked out. Even more so when Lance shifted his body so his legs hung over the edge of the bed. The hoodie still covered everything that Lance didn’t want to see at the moment as he grabbed a pair of underwear from the dresser that was close to the bed.

 

As he kneeled on the ground and started to put the underwear on Lotor’s legs, he could feel the merman tensing up. Looking up Lance saw the look of discomfort on Lotor’s face.

 

“Are you alright? Do you want to do it yourself?” Lance asked. He moved his hands away from the merman’s legs, watching the discomfort grow as he talked.

 

“I do not know what you’re doing. Is it necessary for me to wear this much clothing to spend time with you?” Lotor said, crossing his arms across his chest. “It seems highly unusual that I would need to do all of that.”

 

Lance let out a sigh. He knew in the back of his mind that there would be difficulties with getting the merman to wear clothes as it was a weird concept to someone who's lived in the ocean all their life. Still he wasn’t expecting it to be like this. 

 

“I know it’s weird, especially since it rubbing on your skin. But for humans we wear clothing to keep our body temperatures leveled off and to keep parts of our body from being seen by everyone else. Also to keep the skin chaffing against clothing like the pants.” Lance said, holding up the underwear. He could see that Lotor looked at the underwear in interest, once he could see there was a reason for it. 

 

“Are certain parts of the body for reproduction? I could see why for covering and making sure not a lot of harm could come to it.” Lotor said. “Though I wouldn’t have much use for it in my other body. Anything reproductive would have been kept safe inside of my body.”

 

“Totally get that. I actually would like that then what humans have now.” Lance chuckled at the seriousness of Lotor’s statement. The merman seemed to have an air of pride to him when he finally understood something. ”Would it be okay to wear the tank top and some shorts rather than the pants? It wouldn’t be has much clothing covering your body.”

 

Lotor looked displeased by the question, but he didn’t say anything further as he nodded yes. Lance got up and looked around in his dresser for any shorts that the merman could wear. While basketball shorts seemed like a good idea, he figured Lotor would get weird about the loose fabric hanging around his legs. Same with khakis. As he shuffled through the dressers, he came across some dark purple short shorts he hasn’t worn in a couple of years. They were a gift from his older sister, celebrating the fact he came out to the family about his sexuality.

 

_ “They’re purple cause I saw that was one of the colours the flag for bisexuality.” She explained as she dropped them in his hands.”Plus I couldn’t really find any shorts that were both blue and pink without it looking like a drape tie dye job.” _

 

_ “Where could I wear these anyways? Mamma would kill me if she saw me wearing them in public or around the house.” He said, looking them over. _

 

_ “Wear them to pride or to college when you get the chance. I know you’re moving away for that.” _

 

Lance brought them over to Lotor, waiting for his approval of either the style or the colour of the shorts. He could feel himself getting excited when the merman carefully looked them over in his hands. “I figured these would be the best since they don’t cover a lot of the legs and don’t hang around the legs as much.”

 

“They are interesting.” Lotor replied, still getting a feel for the fabric. They were the same as the pants before except they were a tad softer. “I doubt that anything else wouldn’t set off my sense right now. Everything is new, especially the way humans sense the world around them.”

 

“How much different is it from your other body?” Lance asked, settling back into a kneeling position. He quickly put the underwear on the other’s body. Then he pulled Hunk’s hoodie off in one motion.

 

“You see a lot less than we do, especially in the dark. Usually during the night our eyes will gain a soft yellow glow so we can see each other in the dark. Same for taste. You can’t taste the water the same way as us either.” Lotor said, watching Lance quickly put the clothes on him. Lance noticed he was watching how everything went on like he was going to try and do this later. “But you can hear and touch a lot more than us.”

 

“That makes sense. But it would be so cool to be able to see better along with the other perks. Wouldn’t have to worry about getting glasses when I get older.” 

 

“Well it would seem that both have benefits and disadvantages from the other. But it is fascinating to experience touch like humans. Not a lot is wet nor slimy on land so you can feel more of the textures than my other body would.” Lotor said as the tank top went over his head.

 

“Well if I could turn into a merman then we would be able to compare experiences.” He said with a chuckle. “Now I think it’s best we wash the sand and salt out of your hair. It would be a shame for it to be ruined so soon after becoming a human.”

 

“The salt from the water destroys human’s hair?” Lotor questioned. He moved a hand to his hair, feeling the mixture of sand and the salt. Lance could only wince, remembering when he had refused to wash it after a swim and felt how heavy his hair was after it dried.

 

“Not exactly. Something about the salt builds up in the hair if you don’t wash it out after swimming. Probably would be worse with the sand in your hair as well.”

 

“Then I shall allow you to tend to my hair.” Lotor ordered.

 

“Guess that means you get a piggyback ride. I’m not Hunk in his strength nor sweet attitude, so no more princess carry for you. At least from me.” Lance said cheerfully. He turned around and tried his best to get the merman’s arms and legs to wrap around his body. 

 

It took a few minutes to explain what he was trying to do and for Lotor to move his body. It seemed that he wasn’t use to moving the lower part of his body like a human would. He carried more like it would follow him rather than it taking him anywhere else.

 

As Lance took the merman to the bathroom, he could hear the sounds of chattering from the project downstairs. It wasn’t loud enough that he would have to check in on the both of them yet nor to offer any food. He still needed to run to the grocery store to feed Pidge’s addiction for junk food after getting Lotor situated.

 

Entering the bathroom, he placed the merman on the toilet and went downstairs to find a chair. It would be best to just wash the hair right now rather than running a full bath after Lotor had gotten dressed. As Lance dragged one of the kitchen chairs towards the stairs, he saw Hunk’s head peeking out of the living room.

 

“Hey is that guy awake?”

 

“He’s awake. Doing a lot better than I thought he would be doing.” Lance said, lifting the chair up into the air.

 

As he took a few steps up the stairs, Hunk asked “When are you gonna tell me why we needed to drag him in? He looked like the usual people who get drunk on the beach. What made him so different?”

 

“I would explain, but I still want to do it when Pidge isn’t here. She’s gonna spook him more than needed.” Lance said as he continued up the stairs. He heard Hunk sigh at his answer and go back to the project.

 

Quickly he dragged the chair into the bathroom, placing it in front of the sink. It would be a tight squeeze if he wanted to get in or out in a moment’s notice, but it would be enough to get the hair wet and clean. 

 

“Hey do you think you could try walking? It’s a few steps and would give you a basic idea of what to do later.” Lance said.

 

“It would seem like something I would need to practice if I want to integrate into your society.” Before Lance could do anything to help the guy stabilize, Lotor forced his body upwards and almost fell forward from the momentum. Lance quickly scrambled to catch Lotor’s body, worried that he may crack his head open against the wall.

 

“Dude! You gotta go a bit slower. I’ve seen my younger siblings and cousins injure themselves this way when they were first beginning to walk.” He scolded. Lotor didn’t say a word, but did have enough sense in him to give him a nod that he understood. Lance moved the body into a standing position and guided the merman towards the chair.

 

It was a few shaky steps and it took a minute for Lotor reach it. Lance was patient knowing it couldn’t be easier to carry so much weight in a body that was unfamiliar. If his younger cousins toppled over at around 20 pounds, then being close to 200 pounds was something that would be unpleasant.

 

As Lotor sat down in the chair, he seemed to collapse into it. He was a bit out of breath even with the short distance. Lance didn’t saw anything as he made Lotor lean against the back of the chair where his long white hair could pool into the sink behind him. As he got it wet, he saw that the merman’s body started to relax a bit. As he got all the sand out of the other’s hair, Lance could also see a smile working its way onto Lotor’s face. It made him look younger and it made him look even more beautiful. 

 

Then he grabbed a shampoo and conditioner and worked that into the hair. He could feel the softness make it through the salt crusted hair, like it was before when Lance briefly touched it yesterday. It started to become smooth as well when he added the conditioner into the hair.

 

This continued on for a few more minutes before washing it all out. Grabbing a towel from the rack, he wrapped it around the hair and put it up. Then he leaned against the counter of the sink.

 

“That should be good for a few days. Gonna have to do this again though.” Lance said looking at the merman through the mirror.

 

“It feels a lot better now that it’s been washed from the salt and sand.” Lotor replied as he gently took his hair out of the towel. While it was wet, it looked a lot better than it did before it got washed. While Lance would have warned him not to do such a thing, at the moment he felt tired.

 

They stayed like this for a few minutes, not bothering to move beyond Lotor using his fingers through his hair and Lance continuing against the sink. Then the door burst open.

 

“Lance you’ve got to get those snacks for us soon or I’ll become a terror!” Came Pidge’s shout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been over a month since the last chapter. I got of carried away with another fanfic that has to deal with Infinity War. Then I got sick for a while and didn't want to write another for a few days after recovering. Still I got a burst of energy at some point and just started to write this chapter. (It took me two days to write the whole thing. God I have so little to do with the last few weeks of school.)
> 
> Anyway this was an extremely fun chapter to write, especially since it's from Lance's pov. I wanted to explore what Lance would think about this situation and about Lotor. Plus it was fun to have Lotor being curious about human things. (And the short shorts were a bonus thing lol.) But the chapter got so lengthy and I saw that I wasn't quite halfway through the chapter that I had to split up into two parts. Still gonna be technically three chapters with 4 parts. But hopefully with extra time and no homework in the way I'll get the next few parts out before finishing.
> 
> Anyway, I hope it was an enjoyable read! :D


	3. Chapter Two (Part Two)

Both Lance and Lotor jumped back a bit at the volume of the shorter girl’s shout. Still Lotor gave the appearance of being almost unaffected of the girl’s sudden entry as Pidge made her way towards Lance. He could see that she didn’t care that there was someone else in the bathroom as she nudged the merman’s body away with one of her elbows to the chest to defiantly look up at Lance with only a few inches between their bodies.

 

“You need to get the snacks soon or otherwise we’ll have a repeat of the last time you ran out of food.” She said with an ordering tone. “And I really don’t need to hear another lecture from Shiro about causing a repeating offence.”

 

Lance could in her eyes that she was serious about the threat. Before he could answer her, she took a step back and made the light reflect off her glasses like one of the characters from the animes she would make the three of them watch. It was freaky and made him swallow slowly. Seconds passed by and none of them moved an inch from their place. Lance wanted to answer. He really did. But mentally he was reliving the moment she mentioned that had happened a few months ago when Pidge had gone on a rampage about the lack of food in the house during a stressful project. 

 

It kept him from answering her despite the threat.

 

In the end he managed to slowly nod yes and then she quickly deflated from her annoyed state. Looking away from her friend she finally noticed that there was another person in the small bathroom.

 

“Oh hey!” Pidge said cheerfully, turning her body slightly towards Lotor. “Sorry about that. Lance always needs a push when it comes to stocking up the house with food that’ll keep me and Hunk going until we figure out the problem on a project. You must be the random stranger that Lance graced with his kindness this morning.”

 

“I can only imagine how much you can consume with your size.” Lotor replied smoothly. Still the amused smile that came over the merman’s face was something akin to a sunny day with no clouds in sight. Lance had to look to one of the walls to keep himself from having visible blush. “Still there were probably much better ways than threatening to get him out of the house.”

 

“Well I’ve found other methods don’t really work on him. But there are various ways to threaten him other than with past memories. You do seem like his type now that I’ve seen you.” Pidge said with a smirk that Lance knew all that well. 

 

Quickly he moved to wrap his hand around her mouth before she could say anything else. “Still he’s a stranger Pidge. I would rather he be comfortable than you trying to get a reaction out of either of us. Now go back to the Hunk so I can go get the multitude of snacks the both of you need.” With that he pushed her past Lotor and out of the door. As she was about to yell something at him, he closed the door with a firm slam.

 

And then he leaned against the sink with his hands coming up to his face to rub his forehead, wondering how he had gotten a friend like her. 

 

“She’s quite something.” He heard Lotor say. “I can see why you’re friends with her.”

 

“And yet I don’t know why I continue our friendship when she threatens me like that.” Was all Lance could say back. He continued to rub his hands against his forehead and part of his face, wondering how he was going to deal with the two situations that managed to collide against each other in such a short time.

 

While the looming threat from Pidge about not getting any food was very real, Lance still didn’t want to push Lotor too far by taking him to the grocery store. Still that brought up Pidge and Hunk bothering the merman while he wasn’t here, figuring out that Lotor wasn’t exactly human and trying to bring up the possibility of studying him for science. Lance knew that wouldn’t go well even if he knew his friend’s intentions weren’t about dissecting him up.

 

With a sigh, he moved one of his hands to look at the mermen. Lotor sat quietly in the kitchen chair, looking at the wall across him him. He seemed lost in thought like everything that just happened needed to be examined and processed before moving on. Lance carefully got up and put a hand on the other’s shoulder. There was a small twitch from the merman, but nothing that would suggest he hated the touch.

 

“Hey, you don’t have to come with me for shopping. You can stay here and I can get the stuff quick enough so they don’t pester you too much.” Lance said softly. He also squeezed the merman’s shoulder gently, hoping it would convey that he meant what he said.

 

“While I don’t doubt your skills of being quick, I would rather I spend time with you. Especially when it concerns human culture.” Lotor stated, looking up at him. The words caused something warm to spread through Lance’s body, especially around his neck and face.

 

“If that’s what you want man then who am I to stop you?” With that Lance made Lotor get up and walk as best as he could towards his bedroom. 

 

While he changed into a better outfit, he could hear Lotor trying his best to walk a few feet without stumbling. Lance could also tell when the merman was frustrated, saying something harshly in language that he’d never heard before. As he came out of the closet, he could also see some issues with Lotor’s hair.

 

While he had washed it from all the salt and sand, he had forgotten to dry it after Pidge’s verbal attack. With how long and thick it was, Lance doubt he could run a brush through it without delaying the trip to get snacks. He definitely didn’t want to delay anymore time than he already had with changing.

 

With a quick explanation of what he was going to do with Lotor’s hair, the merman agreed to let him do whatever to his hair. Lance gathered up the white mass and made quick work of it. Taking an extra three minutes than what he planned, he got all of the hair to stay in a bun. It wasn’t his best work, in fact his older sister would have chaste him for how poor the bun was. 

 

But since it was Lotor and had this beautiful quality to him that made the bun look fashionable.

 

“Man, how do you manage to be beautiful as a merman and a man without even trying?” He said with a whine. Lotor huffed out a laugh, standing up without Lance’s help. 

 

“I guess that beautiful beings such as myself are born to make others ashamed. Though I doubt it was their intention to make you feel inferior to me. You have your own beauties that I would love to have.” Lotor said, placing his fingers against one of Lance’s cheeks. He could feel the one finger rubbing against the skin there, careful and gentle like he didn’t want to damage by accident.

 

Fighting a blush at the compliment the the merman had given him, Lance took the hand that wasn’t touching his cheek and lead the other out of his room. Lotor struggled a lot with the stairs as he clung to the railing with everything he had. Lance made sure to hold on to one of the merman’s arms in case he took a dip forward. They managed to make it to the door  in the kitchen before Lance forgot one important detail.

 

Lotor would need shoes.

 

“Ah shit.” He mumbled. Looking down at the shoe rack, he saw that there wasn’t going to be a lot that would fit the merman’s feet. While he was a lot shorter without his tail, Lotor was still tall enough that he would be considered abnormal. If Lance had to guess, the merman was over six foot five. It was a wonder he could even fit into the clothes that Lance had picked out!

 

Then spotted a pair of flip flops that Hunk had gotten a few years ago, he sntached them up. Then he forced them onto Lotor’s feet. Lotor however was confused at this action. “What are you doing? Why do I need these things on my odd appendages?”

 

“They’ll keep your feet from hurting when walking around because I’m guessing that your feet are like a baby’s, so they’ll be extra sensitive. Plus I can’t take you with if your feet are bare. It’s to keep the stores clean I guess.” Lance quickly explained, still trying to get those flip flops onto the merman’s feet.

 

Lotor let him, but gave him a look that said he was still confused by it. Lance dragged him out of the house and towards his car. It was a few years old, in fact it was a hand me down from his older brother. But it still functioned when it was given to Lance when he had gotten his driver license at seventeen. 

 

Lotor quickly figured out how to open the car door and got into the car before Lance could explain to him. It was kinda adorable to see the merman curious with the interior of the car like he was trying to figure out what everything did on his own. It was even amusing to see how wide his eyes got when Lance turned on the car. The delight he saw in the other’s eyes was one he had often seen when Hunk and Pidge got their hands on one of those computers you build yourself.

 

As they made their way towards town, Lance kept an eye on the merman as he touched everything with his hands. While he knew that Lotor would be curious about how the car worked, he didn’t need the both of them getting into an accident if Lotor did something out of his curiosity. Lance had seen it with Pidge when she was younger and tried on more than several occasions to make a makeshift car for the three of them to use around the house. Many times the poor thing would crash in burn during the test runs.

 

Then they arrived in town and quickly found the store Lance needed to make a snack run. Parking the car and getting out of the car, he saw the way that people walking by were looking at Lotor. Most of it was surprise at the beautiful person standing in front them. However Lance knew that some of it was at the outfit that the merman was wearing.

 

Seeing some of the disgusted looks pointed towards the merman’s way, he got closer and grabbed the other’s hand. Lotor glanced at their joint hands, but made no comment that he disliked it. With that the both of them made their way into the store. The one cashier looked up from their spot and then looked back down at the book they were reading when they saw it was only two customers.

 

As Lance grabbed at plastic basket that sat near the sliding doors, Lotor moved closer to him, shivering slightly. 

 

“Why is it so cold in here? I feel like my skin’s going to freeze off.” The merman complained. He continued to shiver despite Lance’s best efforts to rub his hands over the dark arms to bring some heat to them.

 

“They got to keep it cool so that people are dying from the heat outside and the product that can’t go into the freezers without being damaged.” Lance said, guiding the other towards the section that held most of the snacks they needed. “Besides you wore a tank top and short shorts. They don’t do much to keep the body warm, so you’re suffering more than I am at the moment.”

 

“You were the one that insisted that I wear these. That they would make me feel comfortable with wearing human clothing.” Lotor said back sharply. The annoyance on his face clearly said that he wasn’t amused at not being told everything regarding clothing or where they would be shopping.

 

With a sigh, Lance had to think of something that wouldn’t provoke the merman’s annoyance even further. “Sorry for not explaining that part to you. Kinda hard to think of everything right or wrong about something human when you’ve experienced it and expect the other person to just know as well. But I was honestly trying to account for how the clothing would feel for someone like you.”

 

“Just think of that the next time we need to go somewhere.” Lotor said showing he was still annoyed. But Lance could see that his face had soften up slightly. Then the merman tugged at their joint hands. With that Lance lead him towards the aisle to pick out the snacks that they would need.

 

Lotor stuck close to him, trying to leach as much of his body heat as best as he could. Lance had to keep a smile hidden to himself, imagining the other man being one of the many snakes and lizards that he had when he was younger. They would crawl or slither up as close as they could to his body, warming up from his heat alone when out of the tank.

 

Still the curiosity that Lotor had when seeing the variety of snacks in the aisle was also nice to see as well. The merman would gently touch the bags, scrunching up his face at the how the plastic felt. Yet he would do it again and again as if that would change how the bags would feel.

 

As the basket quickly filled up, Lance knew he would have to make a quick run to the convenience store for the brank of caffeinated drinks his friends would need. While he always made sure they knew he disapproved of their bad habit it still wasn’t enough for him to stop buying it. He knew what a couple of all nighters felt and what he would do to keep awake.

 

When he got everything he needed, he went towards the cashier. They were still reading as the both of them walked up, but quickly put it away when they placed their stuff on the conveyor belt. The exchange between Lance and the cashier was normal. Everyone knew each other well enough in this town and only pried when they thought there was something interesting going on.

 

Though Lance should have known better than to expect that no one would ask questions about Lotor.

 

“So who’s that with you Lance?” The cashier asked nonchalantly. He was almost done ringing up Lance’s things, looking at the both of them with an assuming glance.

 

“Just a friend from out of town.” Lance said, guarding himself a bit. From the corner of his eye, he could see Lotor looked at the more sugary stuff with interest. Some of the merman’s hair had fallen out of the bun, making him more handsome than before.

 

“Oh come on, introduce him. I’m betting he’s an interesting guy. Most out of towners are.” The cashier said back with a teasing tone. Still Lance was hesitant, worried about Lotor’s well being.

 

Then Lotor stepped into the conversation. “I’m Lotor. It’s a pleasure to met you.” He said, a polite smile on his face.

 

“Jack. I assume you’re staying with him right?” 

 

“It would appear that I am. Though I doubt that I should be giving that information out when my friend looks uncomfortable.” Lotor said back smoothly. Still there was something in the way that he said it that made the cashier back up slightly. Like Lotor would do something drastic if the guy didn’t back off from either of them.

 

The conversation didn’t continue after that. When everything was bagged up, Lance got the both of them out of there. The heat from the day hit them as the doors slide close behind them. Looking up at the other’s face, he could see how tense Lotor’s face was.

 

With a sigh, Lance moved to hug the guy. There was a moment of confusion on the merman’s face before accepting that whatever Lance was doing wouldn’t harm him much. Even with the stares from the few people walking the sidewalk didn’t make Lance let go of his grip around the merman.

 

Then without saying a word, they went back to the car.

 

________________________________

 

Unbuckling his seatbelt, he could see the sun starting to set in the sky. It would be a few hours before it went down completely. That would mean he would have to figure out in that time how something for Lotor to sleep on for a bed. As he got the bags out of the back of the car, his thoughts raced to find a solution.

 

Downstairs would be off limits if his friends didn’t figure out what the problem is with Hunk’s project. Hunk’s room was also off limit since the man liked having his privacy. Plus he got weird if someone messed up the system he had going on in his room. The only solution was his room at the moment and he didn’t know how he should feel about that. While he knew that Lotor was attractive, he knew there was nothing between them to warrant this odd feeling in his stomach.

 

And yet he wanted Lotor to be somewhere else besides his room. Something churned in his gut at the thought of the merman sleeping in the same room as him when he was also asleep.

 

As he went up the steps to the porch, he saw Lotor looking towards the swing that both hunk and him had made when first moving here. It moved slightly with the breeze from the beach and almost seemed like a good idea to sit on. To gently swing with the soft breeze and the sunlight filtering through the few trees near the house.

 

“You can sit there. Probably tired after walking this much with the added extra bullshit.” Lance said quietly. Lotor looked down at him, almost like he was studying Lance for a few moments. Then he turned away and sat down on the swing.

 

It gently rocked from his weight, but that didn’t deter the merman from making it go faster with his legs by pushing them against the porch. It brought a smile to Lance’s face to see the childlike happiness that came over Lotor’s face. The next few moments he felt glad. Then he pushed the door open to go in.

 

As he got into the house, Lance felt himself being lifted in the air. He gave a quick yelp as he struggled to keep the bags in his hands from dropping to the ground. Then he was face to face with Hunk who had the look of mischief. Lance squirmed slightly, trying to get out of his friend’s grip.

 

“Come on Hunk! I need to put these on the table so the gremlin can eat to her heart’s content.” Lance told Hunk with a pout. Hunk just chuckled in his face as he moved towards the living room.

 

“Dude you’ll be fine. She’s currently working on a part of the project and didn’t even notice the car coming into the driveway.” Hunk said as he finally put him down in the hall that leads to the staircase and the doorway to the living room.

 

“Still I rather be away from her when she finally realizes that her snacks have arrived.” Lance grumbled. He peered around the door to see that his friend was telling him the truth. She was sitting on the floor, putting pieces together. She was unaware of the world around her, focusing on finishing the project to the best of her abilities.

 

Which of course would be amazing with that big brain of hers.

 

He dropped the bags quickly and then grabbed one of the many bags of chips to throw at the back of her head. When it made contact, Pidge’s head whipped around so fast that Lance knew he was dead. Still he took off running knowing she would chase him.

 

As he got outside the house, hearing what Pidge yell at him what she was going to do when she got her hands on him, he saw Lotor’s bewildered expression as he rushed by. Going down the steps and around the corner of the house, his heart was beating out of chest, making him feel so alive. Hunk had come out behind the short and murderous girl, looking way too amused at the situation that Lance had created.

 

As the minutes went by and the chase between him and Pidge continued, he caught flashes of Lotor. He had started to talk with Hunk, unsure of what was happening in front of him. Whatever Hunk said back to him, it brought an amused smile to the merman’s face. The two of them continued to watch until Pidge finally caught up to Lance and forced him to the ground with her body.

 

For someone so small, she knew how to make sure that someone stayed down.

 

“Why must we always have this happen every time I come to your house?” Pidge yelled at him, keeping him on the ground. But Lance could see behind the sweaty bangs and out of breath pants that she was enjoying this. “Can’t you just get the food without making me resort to murder? Or is this all a show for your little boyfriend?”

 

“Why do you think I have to make elaborate plans to get someone I’m interested in to like me more? Is it because of those animes you watch when you're by yourself and don’t force us to watch it?” Lance questioned, still trying to catch his breath.

 

“Shut up.” Pidge yelled sharply at him. 

 

The argument continued for another few minutes, hearing laughter from Hunk on the porch. When the both of them relented from that, they slowly headed back to the porch. Lance saw the amused look on Lotor’s face and made something twist in his stomach. Forcing it back down, he went up the steps and went straight towards the swing.

 

His weight and the momentum of his dive onto the swing, made it move backwards really quick and almost tip out the two occupants onto the the ground. Still it was worth it to see Lotor’s smile and hear the laughter that the merman let free. Lance didn’t care if his friends saw this moment, it was too good for him to never happen.

 

The four of them settled outside, talking to each other and eating the snacks that Lance had gotten. The sun slowly dipped below the horizon, making the sky turn a variety of colours. Both Lance and Pidge took pictures of the sunset at various moments, wanting to capture it forever. It was a comfortable moment that felt like it wasn’t going to end any time soon.

 

But soon the temperature dropped and cause both Hunk and Pidge to return back to their project. Lance grabbed a thick blanket from the hall closet to drape over him and Lotor. The merman looked grateful as he wrapped part of himself up to get warm from the cooling temperatures of the evening. They sat in the swing with the blanket surrounding them, swinging back and forth slowly as the sun continued to set.

 

Then Lance felt Lotor leaning against him. Being taller than him, he felt how Lotor’s head placed itself on top of his head. Still he allowed it, noticing how natural it felt.

 

“You’re like a big cat, you know? Cuddling against me like that and all.” Lance quietly said.

 

“I don’t know what creature that is, but I can imagine it’s something nice.” Lotor replid. He sounded tired and it made Lance remember that this was his first day as a human. 

 

Twisting his head, he saw Lotor’s eye lids barely keeping themselves open. Yet he pushed against it to continue spend time with Lance. With his stomach feeling like it was filled with butterflies and his heart beating a bit faster, he said “How about we get you to bed? I bet you’re tired after the day you’ve had.”

 

It took a few moments, but Lotor nodded in agreement. Lance quickly gathered up the blanket and went inside. He could hear Lotor following behind him as he by the doorway of the living room. His friends were still working on the project, but it looked like they were getting somewhere. He told them that he was going to be and that shouldn’t get crazy. They told him goodnight with Pidge wiggling her eyebrows at him. Lance threw a pillow at her and he could hear her cackling laughter echo down the hall.

 

Going up the stairs was still a hard task, but it showed how determined Lotor was as he made himself go up with any physical help. Lance stood behind him, ready to catch the merman if there was a misstep. Entering his room, Lance pulled back the blankets of his bed and patted at the spot where Lotor would sleep.

 

Wordlessly the merman went there and seemed to melt into the sheets and the blankets. Lance quickly moved to get the bun he had done earlier out before it became a mess in the morning. In minutes Lotor was asleep, tired out by the day he had. Quietly Lance went to his desk to work a bit on his assignments that he had. A few hours went by before he called it quits.

 

Settling himself into his bed, Lance saw how Lotor hadn’t shifted much from his sleep. Still he was beautiful, even with his hair becoming tangled and the slight sounds of snoring coming from the merman.

 

Lance knew then that this was going to be a problem if he didn’t stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. Just got caught up in other stuff, mainly watching all the seasons of Criminal Minds because I had to start something new for the summer and writing a few one shots for other fandoms I'm in. 
> 
> But I swear I was working on this chapter between that stuff!
> 
> It was a lot of fun writing this from Lance's pov and seeing him start to crush on Lotor. Plus I wanted to deal with how he would personally deal with teaching human customs his way. It's a lot tougher than he would have thought, but he's getting there! (Plus if it helps, I listened to Stardust by Nat King Cole for the mood towards the end of the chapter.)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one will be the last one and boy is it going to be interesting! :D


	4. Chapter Three

It took Lotor a while to open his eyes. As he forced himself to wake up a bit more, he felt how much pain that echoed in his body whenever he had to shuffle himself into a better position. His new legs ached so much that he didn’t want to get up and move around, even if it meant not spending time with Lance. Clutching the blanket closer to himself, he moved it over his head so the sun couldn’t disturbed him at all. He felt Lance shifting closer to him, mumbling in his sleep about heat and it made the one heart his body had beat once more. 

 

This feeling that Lance caused in Lotor was still unfamiliar and made him feel like a fool for not knowing. He was a prince of a kingdom, he should be knowledgeable about many things. If he didn’t even know how he felt about certain things than how was he supposed to lead his people to a more prosperous future?

 

Huffing out in irritation, Lotor shifted carefully to stay away from Lance. If he wanted to discover what he was feeling then he would need to search within himself and look through books to pinpoint what it was called. The humans must have something that he could search through while spending his time here. While he didn’t have much to offer in his new body, he could still not be a bother to them while they went on with their lives.

 

It was another few minutes before he felt Lance shift once more in the bed and grumbled about being awake. Lotor made no move to the human that he was awake, wanting a more time to himself. He heard Lance changing and shuffle out of his room, most likely to make breakfast for himself and the others in his home.

 

With reluctance, Lotor opened up his eyes to see that the sunlight was growing stronger as it continued to rise. Still he stayed in bed, wanting to give his mind and limbs as much time as he could before trying to go down those stairs. Another difference between humans and merfolk, he noted. While he didn’t expect humans to float up to their upper levels like he did with his own home, it was still a lot of work to keep himself from toppling down them when using them.

 

Plus he didn’t want to be that much of burden to Lance. 

 

As the sunlight continued to stretch across the room, telling him how much time was passing by, Lotor continued to lay in bed. The thought that he would continue to be like this, laying in bed while in pain was something he didn’t want to experience. He was use to having something to do, moving from one spot to another as Hagge kept a careful eye over him. 

 

Lotor wasn’t allowed to laze about just because he was royalty. He was expected to perform duties that came with the title of being prince of the Galra Empire and to learn about everything that had to do with the Empire. The history, politics within the empire’s borders and surrounding territory of other kingdoms to make sure he knew how to plan his next move. All in all, he had to know everything if he wanted to gain the throne from his father one day.

 

Still there was something to not doing anything just because you could that gave Lotor some insight. It was nice not having to rush anywhere, just to stay in bed and do whatever he pleased. If he had a choice in being lazy, he would do this more often.

 

As he grew bored with staring at the sunlight slowly make its way over Lance’s walls and the pain that rippled through his body with every small move, he started to stretch out the muscles in his legs and arms. They protested against this action, but he pushed through to gain some relief. On the rare chance his father let him join one of the hunts that the royal staff went on to feed both him and his father, he always had to stretch before and after if he wanted to be able to keep up with the group.

 

While he had been made fun off by some of the older and more brutish staff members for being a bratty prince in their eyes, others quietly helped him. They taught him what to do during the hunts and where he would be the best help. Since he had a more lithe build to his body than many of the mermen and merwomen in the groups, Lotor was placed at the outer edge of the group to help corral whatever they were hunting closer to those who would catch it.

 

The hunts were also more fun than he could ever admit to anyway. Being away from the palace and in the open stretches of the ocean was more thrilling than being the son of the Emperor.

 

Once he was sure that his muscles were loosed up a bit, he forced himself out of bed. While he was going to be moving around stiffly for the rest of the day, he would at least be out of the bed. Maybe he could find some books that he could read to find out what he was feeling for Lance. Making his way towards the clothing that was taken off of him yesterday, Lotor finally had time to take in the differences between his regular body and his human one.

 

The first thing was the skin. It was close to Lance’s shade of skin, even if it was a few shades darker than the human’s and felt just as soft without any scales there to protect it. The second was of course the odd appendage that hung between his legs. It looked similar to the penises that he’s seen from other mermen and male creatures of the ocean. Lotor figured it was the same thing. Still it was an odd choice that it stayed outside of the body rather than inside where it could be safer.

 

Still he treated it carefully as he put on the clothing he wore yesterday. Didn’t need to harm himself by accident after all.

 

He made his way out of the room to smell something being cooked down the stairs. As best as he could he went down the stairs, gripping the railing with all his strength. Lotor didn’t want to think what would happen to him if fell down the stairs. Then he followed the scent of what he assumed to be human food when he reached the bottom.

 

He found himself standing in the doorway to a room he briefly saw yesterday when Lance was guiding him around everywhere. Lance was standing in front of something, doing something that was causing the scent he was smelling. Hunk was at the table, leaning over it like he wanted to be asleep once more.

 

Lotor continued to stand in the doorway, watching both humans go on with their lives. It was entirely fascinating to see similarities between humans and merfolk when they’re not aware that they’re being observed. The scene before Lotor stayed like this for a few more minutes. Nobody talked to each other as the rays of the sun continued to grow stronger.

 

Then Lance turned around with something in his hand and nearly dropped it to the floor. Whatever it was, it splattered all over the floor and caused the human to swear. Hunk looked up with a daze on his face and didn’t seem as concerned as Lotor was for Lance’s well being.

 

As he made his way towards Lance, the human held up a hand to stop him from coming any closer. As he did this, he could see that Lance was still picking up the splattered food with his hands and into something round and metal. “Hunk, you’re gonna have to wait a bit longer on breakfast,” Then he looked towards Lotor with annoyance on his face,”As for you I suggest you get to the table before something else happens.”

 

Obeying Lance’s stern warning, Lotor went to sit at the table. The way the chair felt was different than from the ones at the palace. But being hunched over something to write or read was familiar enough. Hunk was across from him and looked like he was just starting to wake up. Looking towards his friend, he saw the mess that had been created. 

 

“What just happened?”

 

“Got startled by Lotor over there. Doesn’t know to alert the cook I guess.” Lance replied, putting the round and metal object on the counter. “But I’ll get you breakfast as soon as I can.”

 

“No worries man. It’ll be nice to appreciate your cooking since I’m more awake now. Besides you promised to tell me why we had to drag him in yesterday from the beach.” Hunk said, quickly looking between the both of them.

With a sigh, Lance slumped over the counter. “I guess it’s a good time as any since she’s out of the house. She’d tried to study him if she were told the truth.” 

 

“Then come over here and sit so you’re not distracted. As much as I would love to guess what type of food you would make when distracted, I’d rather hear the story and eat afterwards.”

 

With that Lance turned himself around and walked over to the table. He sat down at one end, close to Hunk and Lotor. Looking between the two of them, he seemed uncomfortable with them staring at him like this. Lotor focused his gaze towards the table, suddenly finding the patterns in the strange material interesting.

 

He heard Lance clear his throat and then begin talking to his friend. “You remember me going for a swim the other day? And that it took longer than it usually did?” Hunk must have nodded his answer for Lance to continue. “Well I had found a merman during my swim and had stayed to talk to him for the rest of the day. When I left him and came home, I didn’t know that he would find a way to spend more time with me. I found him during my walk yesterday morning and you know the rest.”

 

Hunk was quiet for a while. Lance took this as a way to escape and create breakfast for the two of them. He only looked up once to see that Hunk was staring at him. He felt embarrassed by how the human was looking him and felt extreme heat rushed towards his face and upper body. Looking back down towards the table, he hopped that Hunk would start talking soon. 

 

It would be better to know if he would have to get back to the sea if the human didn’t accept him for being a merman.

 

Lotor could hear something making a sound from Lance’s way. He resisted the urge to look over, getting the feeling that Lance wouldn’t want his attention right now. But he heard the way the chair scrapped against the floor as Hunk stood up and how his footsteps sounded against it as well. As he moved his head to see what would happen, he saw the look on the larger human’s face.

 

It was joyful, something that was unexpected to the story he had just heard. Still nothing was as surprising as when Hunk put his arms around his torso and lifted him out of his chair so easily. Unsure of what he should do, Lotor went limp in hold.

Hunk’s chuckle at this was also something that Lotor did not expect either. Still the vibration of it made him relax, understanding enough of body language of ether species to know that this was something positive and not something to be afraid of.

 

“You do have quite a bit of muscles, even for something that recently turned into a human. Maybe it has to do with whatever you did to change.” Hunk said, his voice continuing to vibrate through both of their bodies.”Probably to make sure you could do anything like a normal human in the age range that you are. I’m gonna say that in terms of human age you would be around early 20’s.”

 

“While I do not know how long humans stay alive, I will have to say your assumption is correct. But if we were going by merfolks way of aging, I would be around 900 years old.” Lotor said. Then he looked up into Hunk’s face. “Could you please put me down now?”

 

With the same ease as picking him up, the human put him down. Still the look on his face told Lotor that he was in awe of his answer. “You’re really that old?”

 

“I’m younger than among most of the Galra that are alive. But I am old enough that I’ll be able to do my duties once my father has passed on.”

 

“Then that means the rest of your kind lives a lot longer than expected?” Hunk asked. When Lotor nodded yes, he saw a gleam in the other’s eyes. It was bright and youthful, much like younger merfolk who joined the hunts for the first time. It was both amusing and touching to note another similarity in his mind. “You must age a lot slower than humans to live as long as you do.”

 

“It would appear so. But I think there are more pressing concerns than how I age.” Lotor said. He looked over to Lance, the human still creating breakfast for the two of them. He hadn’t said a thing to either of them, seemingly not interested in joining the conversation.

 

“Don’t mind him. He’s just doing this thing where he shuts everyone else out. It never lasts for long, no longer than a day or so.” Hunk whispered to him. “But he’ll come around. Especially the way he wants to talk to you since yesterday morning.”

 

Lotor was confused by the last statement. While he understood being away from the world for a short time to ponder on a difficult subject, he didn’t understand why Lance would break it to talk to him. Especially when it seems to be inconveniencing the human on several things in his life. “Why would he do that for me?” He whispered back.

 

“Dude have you seen yourself? You’re extremely attractive, even by human standards.” Hunk said, looking at Lotor. He could see the blush on the other human’s face, similar to Lance’s. Still what Hunk said that confused Lotor even further.

 

“I’m not even considered all that attractive for merfolk, how could I be attractive for human standards?” This question confused Hunk. Lotor watched the human gap at him like he couldn’t believe what was coming out of his mouth. It made him slightly uncomfortable, unsure what he said was being taken the way he intended.

 

Before anyone could say anything to each other, Lance brought over two plates filled with food. It looked different from the fish that were captured during the hunts, but the smell promised something good all the same. Lance silently moved him to sit and gestured to some silverware to use. Then he went to grab himself some food.

 

This proved to be a good distraction from the uncomfortable turn that the conversation took as Hunk ate his meal. He didn’t look at Lotor the entire time he ate and soon left after he finished up. Lotor however took his time to eat was put in front of him. While he was trained to be polite about eating the different kind of fish that kingdoms would provide for meals this was entirely new.

 

First he tried a bit of everything to see what he might like. While some things were good enough for several more bites as they were pleasant to his taste, other things were downright repulsive or the texture being too weird for his mouth. He only noticed that Lance was watching him towards the end of his meal.

 

Feeling a heat that encompassed his chest and face, Lotor didn’t know what he should say to the human. Whether he should apologize for creating the disturbance earlier or for inconveniencing the human’s life in a short period of time.

 

Before he could do either, Lance placed a hand over his. “Hey, stop being so nervous like that. I’m not mad at you for anything.”

 

“Easier said than done when I’m convinced that I’m intruding on your life like I have. I can return to my old life the same way I came here if you would prefer that over housing me.” He said, looking back towards his plate of human food.

 

There was a sigh from the human. Still he continued to hold his hand like he didn’t want to let Lotor go anytime soon. “Lotor you don’t need to feel like that. I actually like you living with me despite the issues that have come up. You just gotta understand I’ll be annoyed from time to time because of the differences between humans and merfolk. I don’t expect you to understand our customs in such a short amount of time. Same with you understanding that I’ll be curious about how merfolk work as well.”

 

“But what will happen when that curiousity wears off? Or someone from the kingdom looks for me because I’m missing? I don’t expect you’ll be so understanding then when that happens because it will.” Lotor said, firm in his words. He saw the frown that took over the human’s face and wondered what he was doing. He was doing so well before this point and now it seems he was starting to get on the human’s bad side.

 

“We’ll get to those things when they come. But using them as an excuse to try and push me away when you feel insecure about the two of us becoming friends is not the way to go.” With that Lance got up from the table and went for the door to go outside. 

 

Lotor stayed at the table for a while, taking the the words that the Lance told him. While he wanted to argue his point for the future of this odd situation, he could also see why Lance wouldn’t care as much as him about it. After all he did take in a merman into his home with only one meeting between the two of them.

 

As he continued to think over the human’s words, he wandered outside to settle on the odd swinging contraption. The motion of moving back and forth at his own pace seemed to calm him down more than hiding somewhere like he did when he was a merman.

 

As time passed, Lotor mulled over the conversation between himself and Lance. He was unsure who was in the right or if there was a right way of doing things with what was happening now.

 

____________________________

 

It was a couple of more days of silence between the two of them before there were any words said between them that didn’t require small talk or help. During that time Lotor thoroughly thought over everything while Lance quietly went through his life. While he was desperate to talk to the human about the issue that caused this, he didn’t know what to say to make this happen. Lotor wasn’t use to apologizing as he had limited contact with those outside the castle.

 

Also the fact that his father and Hagger didn’t think it was right to stand down from what you’ve said, even if you were wrong on all accounts. Sign of being weak and all from what he remembered of the weekly lectures from the both of them.

 

Even with the silence between them, he consulted with Hunk over some human things that Lance had been unable to answer. The larger human was friendly enough with the explanations, even with trying to make some concepts of human culture not seem as weird as they were. 

 

But the other human that occasionally came over was something he never encountered before. She just had her own way of living and never had an explanation that could be summed up so easily. Still she was nice enough to take Hunk’s excited explanation of Lotor being a merman pretty well. Hr words when Hunk was done was, “Guess that’s why he suddenly showed up one day. Wouldn’t forget his inhuman looks if he was hanging around this town for a while.”

 

She was also fun to  hang around with, especially when she introduced him to several forms of human entertainment when there had been nothing else to do.

 

“How do humans get this things to create what they want to see? Or is a form of magic that you managed to create all on your own?” Lotor questioned as he made the titles of stories move across the tv with a small black device. While the covers were often eye catching, he couldn’t help but make them continue flashing across the screen. The motion was too fascinating to stop.

 

“Well I guess it’s sort of like magic if you’ve never seen anything like it. But it’s a complicated process that involves electricity and many trials and errors to get right.” Pidge said, grinning too wide for anyone’s liking (especially for Lance, Lotor noted sadly.)

 

“But humans don’t have any magic to rely? Just what they make with their own hands?” While there was some beings that didn’t use magic that much, not using any was an odd thing to Lotor.

 

“While I’m expected to say that magic doesn’t exist as someone with scientific background, I do believe that there are some things that are classified as magic. Mostly folklore from what I’ve read, but there’s gotta be something in this world that can’t be explained by science no matter what.” She said. He debated whether he should tell her that there were other beings that performed magic and that stories that merfolk had of humans contained them performing magic.

 

Before he could reach a solid decision, Pidge nugged his arm. “You sound so surprised that humans couldn’t perform any magic. Were we able to at one point?”

 

“While there are stories of humans being able to use magic, it mostly involved them using it to capture or harm merfolk. So even I knew a way for humans to regain their roots in magic it’s likely a lot of the stories are based on exaggeration from being passed down for so long.” He explained, looking down at her. While some of her hair was pulled back to keep out of her face, a few strands managed to make their way out, framing around her face.

 

Even with the possible explanation that he had given her, the human had this look in her eyes that didn’t quite believe what Lotor said. Before he could retract his theory, she put a hand on his shoulder, her small hand spread out across his skin. “Well even if they were exaggerations they must have some truth to them. Or just used as a way to explain an unknown phenomenon that couldn’t be explained for what was really going on. It’s what happened with a lot of human mythology.”

 

“That’s also plausible. Still it’s unlikely that humans will suddenly discover the way to use magic once more. From my observations of modern humans, they rely more on what they can see or touch in order to use it.” Lotor said. He placed the device controlling the titles to move. “Magic isn’t a thing that is tangible. It’s more like a feeling inside you that you must force to become a physical thing.”

 

“Do you have any magic inside you Lotor?” Pidge asked, looking up at him with her light brown eyes.

 

“While I don’t have the talent nor the lineage to create magic that would be impressive, I do know enough to create small illusions.” With that he made a few motions with his arms to create a few fish to dance and move around Pidge. She looked amazed as they continued to swirl around her.

 

The gleeful laugh that came out of her when one of the illusions carefully touch their snout to hers was also something he never expected to hear either. But Lotor knew that he didn’t want to stop it when she touch one of them and caused them all to swim wildly.

 

Then he saw Lance in the doorway. However long he was standing there didn’t matter. All Lotor knew was that he needed to talk to the human if he wanted to sort out their argument and it would have to be know.

 

Standing up, he made his way to Lance. Silently they agreed to go somewhere else to talk. Lotor didn’t know what he said to Pidge as he turned to face her. The illusions slowly faded from view, almost like they were sad to leave the human like he was. Before he could say anything to her, she looked up at him and nodded him like she understood what he was trying to do. 

 

Like it was clear enough from the tone between the two of them that it was a serious matter that couldn’t be put off.

 

They made their way to the porch and sat down on the swinging contraption. Unlike the last time Lotor sat on it, there was a blanket there, folded up on the back of it. He reached for it and pulled it down to wrap around himself and Lance. The human allowed him to sit close enough for this to happen.

 

Sitting in silence, they waited for each other to begin. In the distance Lotor could hear the waves crashing against the beach and the echoing of seagulls fighting over something they had found. In the house there was the sound of Hunk and Pidge talking excitedly about something drifting through one of the open windows.

 

He also focused on the nature that surrounded the house as well, unsure if Lance would want him to stare at him during the conversation. Just as he felt like nothing was going to happen as the minutes dragged on, he heard a sigh from beside him. Cautiously he looked over and saw the tiredness that had taken over the human in a short amount of time.

 

Before he could say anything about this strange development, Lance looked at him with his blue eyes. Too many emotions for him to pick out just one, but he could see enough to know that the human was struggling. Whatever it was, Lotor didn’t want Lance to suffer longer than necessary.

 

“Lotor I want to apologize for snapping at you the way I did a few days ago. While I did want you to see my things of this whole situation it wasn’t right to put it the way that I did and it certainly didn’t help that storming off made it easier between us. Even if it did make seeing what you said about leaving one day much easier to understand.” Lance said, sounding like one of the few humans stories he had watched with Pidge. 

 

Even with the limited apologies that Lotor had heard in his life, it was sincere enough for him to start his own. “You don’t have to apologize to me that much Lance. I understood that my hesitance about me staying with you despite the fact you were kind enough to house me was rude. However I also understand that taking a break from each other brought us time to see each other’s points of view without causing another ruckas.” Lotor said back.

 

“Still we shouldn’t have gotten so mad about a disagreement.” Lance said. “Should have done this sooner, especially with Hunk and Pidge introducing you to tv and movies.”

 

“What has happened between us will stay in the past. All that matters is us talking to each other now about moving forward.”

 

“When did you get so wise merman?” Lance said with a soft smile.

 

“The lessons from those stories that Pidge has been showing me have made understanding humans a lot easier. Though there are a few things I do want clarified. Pidge doesn’t explain anything that I don’t understand that well.” Lotor said. His frustration was clear from the way Lance let out a half laugh at pountiness that must be on his face.

 

“Dude, I probably make it worse since storytelling or how plot show work isn’t my strongest suit. But I’ll try my best and if that isn’t good enough, we’ll go to Hunk for an explanation.”

 

“Then I guess we’ve made up. At least by human standards.”

 

“I would hope so.” Lance said, looking at him. There was something in his blue eyes that made Lotor’s heart stop for a beat. They stared at each other, the silence deafening in a way that Lotor had never experienced before. Even with the sounds that were drifting in the wind earlier seemed to go away.

 

When the human started to leaned towards him, he was unsure of what he should do. While he had seen many instances of humans doing this odd thing when there was clear and obvious sexual and/or romantic tension between them where they pressed their mouths together and were declared they beloved mates, he wasn’t clear that was happening here. After all Pidge didn’t explain that aspect of human culture well other than it was something to signify that the two humans were together now.

 

As Lance pressed his lips to the corner of Lotor’s mouth, he went still. The odd human thing went on for a few more moments before Lance leaned away. He watched as the human’s face went from content to shame. From a beautiful shade of brown to a colour mixed of red and brown that didn’t seem healthy.

 

As Lance started to move to stand up, Lotro reached around his waist to pull him closer. He didn’t want the human to leave him so soon after making up. He didn’t want to screw up once more because of his ignorance.

 

“Please don’t go! Please don’t leave me in the dark about what just happened between us.” He cried out, desperate to keep Lance closer to him. While Lance had squirmed slightly when being grabbed, he stopped at Lotor’s plea.

 

“Wait? You didn’t know what just happened?” Lance asked, looking surprised. When Lotor nodded yes, there came a sigh and smack to the head. “Should have known that was another thing that was different between us.”

 

“Just please explain what happened so I can understand. All I know is that you were showing possible romantic interest in me and I want to know if that’s true.”

 

“Well the romantic interest is true at least.” Lance mumbled, looking embarrassed. Still he looked Lotor in the eye with earnest that made something in his stomach swell with happiness. “I do like you beyond friends and would like to be something more to you if it would be possible.”

 

“You would like to become my mate?” Lotor questioned.

 

The snort that came out of Lance mouth was something he wasn’t expecting for an answer. “I guess it could be considered something like a mate in human terms. But for this instance I just want us to get to know each other before declaring anything. Such as mates.”

 

“So you would like to court me to become my mate?” When Lance smiled and nodded at this question, Lotor felt his body slump slight at this. “Well this experience with you will give me more time to understand the human experience. Especially when dealing with Pidge.”

 

“She’s a handful for anyone, including her family. But wouldn’t change her for anything in the world.”

 

“Even for me to become your beloved mate?” Lotor asked teasingly.

 

“Even with your good looks and wonderful mind I wouldn’t be able to make myself change her. But I’m betting it would give her less reason to blackmail me now that you’re my boyfriend. She likes you enough that it’ll stop her for a bit.” Lance said with a teasing tone. He snuggled closer to Lotor, the blanket wrapping around them much more.

 

With a snort, Lotor replied,”I wouldn’t go that far my dear. She’ll just find another way to needlessly pick on you. She won’t be stopped by such simple things, even if she likes me.”

 

“Guess we can’t have everything.” Lance mumbed against his shoulder.

 

“But we can have each other my dear.” WIth that Lotor leaned his body against Lance’s, happy being near the human. 

 

He never imagined that his obsessive wish to see the human again would lead to this. It just something he couldn’t have imagined with his duties as a prince and wouldn't have happened with any of the arranged marriages that his father would have given him. Still he wouldn’t change the outcome of his decision for any reason.

 

Staying like this, they watched the sun go down. The waves continued to crash against the beach and there echos of the screeching of seagulls. But nothing could bother the two of them as the soaked up each other's presence without the intent of moving any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I got this updated and finally finished it before school started! While sad I won't be able to work with Merman!Lotor as he was a lot of fun to write, I am glad that I was able to finish this. Which means I get to move on to different writing projects! YAY!
> 
> So hopefully you had a lot of fun seeing Lotor being a merman curious about human culture and my odd attempts to write merfolk culture as well. :D

**Author's Note:**

> And here I am back to Lancelot after spending months on my Voltron and Thor crossover! It's nice to get back to this ship after leaving it for months. Hopefully I won't have to do that again for a while.
> 
> Anyway I hope this AU is fun for you guys. It was certainly fun to write since Lotor as any mythical being is amazing. (Since he's so beautiful as an alien lol.) Hopefully what I have planned for mermaid!Lotor will be enjoyable to read along with the romance :D


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